MEA Bursary

The Application Process

We are again pleased to advise all Municipalities in Ontario of the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) 2018 Bursary Awards Program to assist students with the 2018-2019 academic year at university. The value of each bursary is $1,500 and up to ten (10) children/dependents of municipal employees and Councilors entering a university engineering program will be selected from across the Province.

The MEA is a non-profit professional association representing the interests of municipal engineering through engineering and public works employees serving Ontario Municipalities. As such, the MEA values not only the contribution of their fellow municipal employees, but also the technical excellence of our future municipal employees and their sensitivity to community needs and their public communication skills. This is reflected in the following selection criteria:

Candidates must be the children/dependents of current, full-time, municipal employees or elected Municipal Councillors in Ontario. Full time “part time” employees, who work at least 24 hours per week, are also eligible if they qualify for OMERS pension and benefits.

Candidates must be in their final year of a secondary school program;

Candidates must have been granted conditional acceptance and make a commitment to enter an engineering program at an Ontario or Canadian university. Note, you do not need this prior to applying for the grant, just as a condition of release of funds.

Candidates must have demonstrated an interest in, and contribution to, their community through active participation in extracurricular activities at their high school and/or in civic organizations; and

Candidates will be required to demonstrate strong communication skills by submitting a 500 word essay on a topic of public interest related to municipal engineering or public works.

Up to ten Bursary recipients will be selected from amongst all of Ontario's Secondary Schools.

The application process is described below:

1) Candidates must complete an application to the Municipal Engineers Association which includes the student's secondary school transcript, their curriculum vitae (which must include details of extracurricular activities and contributions to the community), and a 500 word essay on a topic of public interest related to municipal engineering or public works. This submission, in .pdf format, can be sent electronically to info@municipalengineers.on.ca. This year we are encouraging you to submit the application directly on the web page laid out below. This will ensure we receive all the relevant information in a timely fashion.

2) The bursary recipients shall be chosen by the Municipal Engineers Association based on a scoring of the written submissions received by April 8, 2018.

3) The essays and other material submitted for the bursary award above will be reviewed by a committee selected by the MEA, and all decisions of the committee are final

4) The monetary award in the form of a $1,500 cheque will be forwarded to the recipients (unless directed otherwise by the school) upon the completion of the judging and receipt of university confirmation of acceptance and evidence of student commitment to enter a university engineering program.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with the children of municipal employees to contribute to their academic studies to become engineers. If you require any additional information or have any questions, please feel free to contact Alan.korell@municipalengineers.on.ca.

The application can be made online below, this document gives more details on the process and can be used to mail in an application.